What’s more important-the line or the QB?
I love having this debate with people because you always get mixed answers. It’s like arguing with people who have played soccer competively in the past because they have very strong opinions of the sport and what goes on. Is the line more important than the QB? The people who have played as lineman ALL believe that they make the qb and I’m fine with that. I was a qb and I appreciated my line greatly and sometimes felt like cursing them greatly when I didn’t have time to do anything. Some games it felt like my left tackle was like a matador just letting the bulls run by to smash me. I’m hoping that wasn’t done on purpose but it makes the argument a little more compelling.
The line is the backbone of the entire offense. if you have a solid line you will be able to run and throw the ball well. The QB has more time to pass and the running backs get better running lanes to go through or they have holes that are opened up for longer periods of time. Lineman also are the pulse of the team in that they need to always stay positive and put every play behind them whether successful or not. Nothing matters to a lineman except the next play and there is always a chance at redemption.
A QB is the face of the team and the position that everyone sees. A Qb is the leader or the position that should be the leader. It is the Qb’s job to make sure everyone is staying positive and focused and moving on from play to play. When the line breaks down the qb has to make plays despite all that is going on around him and it makes for some exciting football. The qb is responsible for the reads on the offensive side of the ball and has to call out those to the offense to tell them what to do and how to block. How accurately and quickly this is done goes a long way to determining the success of the offense. I loved playing qb for those reasons.
If you ask me the line is the most important and if I were drafting in the NFL i would take a lineman before I would take a qb. I know the qb is a sexier pick and that some teams draft that way, but the teams that get better quicker draft solid lineman to build the offense and defense around. The Dolphins won 1 game a couple years ago and took Jake Long with the top pick. I loved it when it happened and I love it more today. Jake Long will be a pro bowl player for years to come and will anchor that offense. Miami won a lot of games last season and Long played a big part. Meanwhile Matt Stafford was just taken by the LIONS and no matter what he is able to bring I don’t believe that the LIONS have the stuff up front to help him at all. Matt Ryan made the Falcons better and was a great pick but they had more of the need there than MIAMI did at the time. My point is that I’m taking a building block of a franchise I’m taking a lineman every time.
